Kids VT, November 2015
The Giving Season: Kids Who Volunteer; Bonding on the Long Trail; A Tantalizing Turkey Recipe
Funky Purple Playhouse
Twins Matilda and Tallulah Macdonald were perplexed when they arrived at their home in Stowe this past summer and discovered a small purple dwelling outside. “Whose house is in our yard?” they wondered. The playhouse, which had been delivered earlier that day, was a surprise fourth birthday present from Oma — their grandmother, Peggy Smith.…
Into the Woods: A Mother and Teenage Daughter Bond on the Long Trail
Ever since my daughter, Abby, was a toddler, I’ve noticed how happy and carefree she is in the woods. I’d always thought about doing a long-distance hike with her. In the summer of 2014, when Abby was 12, I finally asked her if she’d like to hike the Long Trail with me. She responded with…
Giving and Getting
My parents host Thanksgiving dinner every year at their home in the suburbs of New York City. It’s a large affair with more than 30 guests and a 25-pound turkey. Thanksgiving is the only day of the year when I eat my Grandma Iams’ famous onion pudding and my dad’s equally famous sausage and pecan…
Book-Inspired Contest Winners
Congratulations to these talented young artists who submitted captioned pictures showing themselves with a robot friend, inspired by Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to Crow Bookshop in Burlington. Here are the winning drawings. Fiona Case, 6, Burlington “My name is Fiona, and this is my friend Bella the…
Rutland Mom Makes Kids’ Clothes with an Heirloom Feel
When Deirdre Lozier was growing up in Rutland, her “amazing seamstress” mom taught her to sew. It was just a hobby for Lozier until her third son was born in 2012 while she was a biology and chemistry student at Castleton State College. That’s when she googled the phrase “How to make money by sewing.”…
Local Songstress Releases Sing-Along Album
Linda Bassick’s weekly Friday Morning Sing-Along at Burlington’s Radio Bean attracts legions of local kids — and their parents — with the sing-song strains of children’s classics such as “Puff the Magic Dragon,” “The Green Grass Grew All Around” and “Move Over for Marty.” These beloved tunes and many more can be found on Bassick’s…
David Macaulay’s Latest Book Explores Simple Machines
David Macaulay’s books explore the inner workings of everything from cathedrals to toilets. The celebrated Norwich author does so “with a writer’s grace” and “an engineer’s clarity,” according to the New York Times. Last month, Macaulay released how machines work: Zoo Break! The story, geared toward 7- to 10-year-olds, follows two furry characters, Sloth and…
Children’s Opera Spreads Message of Solidarity
In 2004, Trish Denton received a copy of the picture book Brundibar, a collaboration between playwright Tony Kushner and children’s book author Maurice Sendak. In it, a brother and sister desperately try to earn money for their sick mother by singing in the town square. An organ grinder named Brundibár thwarts their efforts, until 300…
Teen Sofie Carfaro Creates Her Own Theater Company
NAME: SOFIE CARFARO AGE: 16 TOWN: RICHMOND Sofie Carfaro’s leather blazer, black-rimmed glasses and long dark hair make her seem older than her 16 years. So do her professional ambitions. The Mount Mansfield Union High School junior aspires to direct and produce creative works on the stage. A year ago, when she was a sophomore,…
Junior Roller Derby
It’s a chilly fall night, but things are starting to heat up in a cavernous room at the Champlain Valley Exposition, Green Mountain Roller Derby skater Carrie Speranza leads 18 roller-skate-clad girls through a two-on-one blocking drill. Dressed in blue and red pinnies and wearing helmets personalized with stickers and their alter-ego derby names, the…
Middlebury Tot Time
When the cold, wet weather arrived last month, I felt a creeping sense of dread. How would my toddler daughter and I get through the days without spending long stretches romping around outside? Then we discovered the municipal gym. Every Wednesday and Thursday, October through early June, Middlebury’s recreation department hosts Tot Time there from…
How the Owners of Great Harvest Bread Juggle Work and Family
Ethan and Sara Brown met at Great Harvest Bread 15 years ago. Not the one in Burlington, where you can find them in flour-covered aprons with children at their heels five days a week — this one was in Missoula, Mont. Ethan, a D.C. native, worked research jobs in his hometown after college. The gigs…
Tackling Tough Subjects
Children’s books don’t just entertain. Sometimes they help teach kids about serious issues such as homelessness, poverty and immigration. We asked local librarians to suggest books that explore sensitive topics in ways that kids can understand. The Teddy Bear by David McPhail In this picture book, a little boy leaves his treasured teddy bear at…
Turkey Time
Every year, my family travels to my mom’s house in Binghamton, N.Y., for our Thanksgiving feast. Because we have to endure a half-day car trip with three kids, I’m not an architect of the meal, nor am I responsible for any specific dish. I help out once we arrive, but my mom and her sisters…
How do you know if your child has a concussion?
Concussions can cause lasting damage, and public awareness of that danger is growing. In 2013, former NFL players sued the league for failing to warn them about the risks posed by head injuries sustained while playing the sport. Last spring, the NFL agreed to pay them up to $1 billion dollars. Actor Will Smith stars…
The Art of… Fabric Upcycling
With its robot battles, 3D printers and rocket displays, the Champlain Mini Maker Faire at Shelburne Farms had a decidedly high-tech vibe. But this celebration of innovation in September included at least one low-tech activity — the first-ever “Swap, Stitch, Make.” It took place in a corner of the Coach Barn, at tables piled high…
Better to Give: Charitable Kids Learn Life Lessons
Here’s what the perfect Thanksgiving looks like for 14-year-old Sydney Hicks: She gets up early, pulls on jeans and a T-shirt and heads to Sweetwaters in downtown Burlington. There, she dons an apron and, with her mom and dad, helps prep the kitchen, set tables and put out pies for the restaurant’s annual free Thanksgiving…
Nature is the Teacher at Burlington’s Popular Crow’s Path
To get to school on Wednesday mornings, Amelia Van Driesche of Burlington must first pass through a rustic driftwood arch she and her classmates call “the portal.” It isn’t a typical entryway, or a typical school. Beyond the portal is a 144-acre classroom, consisting of meadows, orchards, woods and shoreline stretching to the promontory of…
